THE number of over-65s in a job has reached a record one million, according to new figures.
And fewer people claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance in the Huddersfield area last month.
UK unemployment has fallen by 5,000 to 2.5m and the numbers claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance fell by 8,600 in May to 1.5m.
Among parliamentary constituencies, the claimant count in Huddersfield fell by 39 to 3,985 while the Colne Valley figures was down by just one at 2,630. The Dewsbury tally was lower by 15 at 2,960.
Nationally, a record 29.7m people are in work after a rise of 24,000 in recent months.
Unemployment in Yorkshire fell by 2,000 to 244,000 during the three months to April, representing 8.9% of the workforce.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that just over a million people over the age of 65 are in work, the highest since 1971.
Almost one in 10 people in the age group are working – 615,000 men and 388,000 women.
Other data disclosed that public sector employment has fallen by 22,000 to just under 5.7m, the lowest figure since 2001.
Local government employment is 26,000 lower than the end of last year at fewer than 2.5m.
Employment in private firms has increased by 46,000 to 24m.
The UK’s employment rate is now 71.5%, while 7.8% of the population is jobless.
The so-called claimant count has fallen for seven months in a row and has dipped to its lowest total since May, 2011.
The fall in unemployment in the quarter to April was entirely due to men finding work – while the number of women out of a job rose by 7,000 to 1.09m.
Long-term unemployment also increased – with those looking for work for longer than a year up by 11,000 to almost 900,000.
Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds fell by 43,000 to 950,000.
Employment minister Mark Hoban welcomed the increase in private sector employment, adding: "With the number of people in work increasing and unemployment down, these are welcome figures. The fact that youth unemployment is also down is a positive sign."
But TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: "While there is a record number of people in work – due to a rising population and people working past state pension age – the chances of actually being in work has fallen in the last three months.
"Decent pay rises seem confined to top bosses, whose pay is now rising 10 times as fast as ordinary workers. We need far stronger economic growth to boost our jobs market and for top bosses to stop hogging limited business gains for themselves."
